Chromatic inking apparatus for printing-presses



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. B. OLINE. CHROMATIC INKING APPARATUS FOR PRINTING PRESSES. No.553,228 Patented Jan. 21, 1896.-

3 Sheets-Sheet 2, J. B. GLINE. CHROMATIC INKING APPARATUS FOR PRINTINGPRESSES. No. 553,228. I Patented Jan. 21, 1896.

(No Model.)

' ANDREW B.GRAHAM. mm-ummwnsmuammnc.

(No- Model.) 3* sheets-sheets. -J. B. GLINE.

' GHROMATIG INKING APPARATUS FOR. PRINTING PRESSES. No; 553,228.

Patented Jan. 21', 1896.

ANDREW H GRAHAM. PHOTO'UTHQWASHINBTON. D C

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. CLINE, OF JEFFERSON, IOlVA.

CHROMATIC INKINGA PPARATUS FOR PRlNTlNG-PRESSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,228, dated January21, 1896.

Application filed January 31, 1 89 5 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN B. CLINE, of Jefferson, county of Greene, andState of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Chromaticlnking Apparatus for Printing- Presses, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a color-inking mechanism for printing-pressesby which different lines of type may be supplied with inks of differentcolors and by a single impression printed matter produced composed ofdifferentcolored lines.

The object of the invention is to produce a device of this characterwhich will be practical and effective in operation and which may beapplied as an attachment to any of the presses of the various well-knownforms now in general use; and with-these ends in view my inventionconsists in the various features of construction and combination ofparts hereinafter fully described in the specification, and pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved device shown as applied to a disk-inking press of thewell-known Gordon type. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the deviceremoved, as viewed from the opposite side. Fig.3 is a top plan view ofthe same. Fig. a is a longitudinal section from front to rear. Fig. 5 isa transverse section on the line a, c of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is averticallongitudinal section through a portion of the ink-reservoir. Fig. 7 is avertical transverse section on an enlarged scale through one of theindependent sections of the inkreservoir. Fig. Sis a top plan view ofthe same. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the upper end of the device,showing the mechanism for operating the rollers in the ink-reservoir,certain portions being broken away to expose other parts to view.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a casting or frame consisting oftwo triangular side frames '2, having fixed to their upper inclinededges two parallel longitudinally-ex- I tending rails 3, connected atintervals by a series of transverse connecting-pieces 4, 5, 6, and 7,attached at their ends thereto, these rails and connecting-piecesconstituting an inclined fiat bed upon which suitable dis tributing andinking rollers are adapted to Serial a. 536,825. No modelJ travel backand forth, as more fully described hereinafter.

Seated upon the transverse con necting pieces and extendinglongitudinally of the bed are a series of color-strips 8, of varyingwidths and arranged at varying distances apart, corresponding to thesize of the type composing the lines of printed matter and the width ofthe spaces between the lines. The strips are removablyconfined on thebed and terminate some distance from the upper end of the same, thepurpose of which will presently appear. At their lower ends they areseated against the upper projecting edge of an inclined plate 9,extending horizontally across the lower end of the body and securedthereto in any suitable manner. This plate is provided with suitablegraduations to facilitate the proper adjustment of the colorstrips withrespect to the lines of type and the width of the spaces between them.At their upper ends the strips are folded around the upper edge of thetransverse graduated connecting-piece 6, and the folded end of eachstrip is engaged by a 1ocking-finger 10. These fingers are formed ofmetallic strips bent at one end to loosely encircle a horizontaltransverse shaft 11, and folded back and forth to constitute a spring,the arrangement being such that when the finger is turned down andengaged with the end of the strip it will hold the same securely inposition, and when disengaged therefrom, as shown in dotted lines, thestrip may be removed. The shaft 11, on which these locking-fingers aremounted, is removably sustained on the bed, so that the fingers mayitberemoved and replaced by others to correspond with the width of thecolor-strips.

To prevent the shaft from bending a plate 12 is secured to the bed inrear of the shaft and has its front edge grooved to permit it to beplaced closely against the shaft, as shown in Fig. 41

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the color-strips maybe conveniently removed when desired and replaced by others, accordingto the character of printing desired, the width of the type and thespaces between the lines, &c.

The distributing-rollers referred to are five in number, 13, 14, 15, 16,and 17, the office of ICO the upper roller, 17, the ductor, being toreceive on its surface the different-colored inks from the reservoir andapply the same to the strips, upon which the inks are uniformly andevenly spread by the d istributingrollers, as more fully describedhereinafter. These rollers are carried by a reciprocating carriageconsisting of two side plates 18 and 19, connected together by ahorizontal plate 20, extending beneath the bed and firmly secured at itsends to the side plates by means of screws, or otherwise. The inneredges of the two side plates are formed with shoulders 21, which travelon the edges of the two inclined rails 3, by which arrangement thecarriage is guided in its movement on the bed from one end to the other.

Near its lower end the side plate 18 is formed with two vertical lugs23, containing open slots in which are seated the ends of the spindlesof the two lower distributing-rollers,

13 and let, theopposite-ends of the spindles being seated in similarslots in two vertical lugs 24, projecting upward from the inner ends oftwoadjustable plates25, carried by the-opposite side plate 19. Theseadjustable "plateshave their under sides recessed to receiveguiding-ribs on lateral extensions 26,

projecting from the side plate, the construction being such that theadjustable plates may be moved obliquely outward in diverging lines, andin this way cause the separation of the ends of the rollers, so that thelatter will extend obliquelyacross the face of the colorfstrips.Setscrews 27-are provided for holding the adjustable plates in theposition desired.

by anut :are seated inslotted lugs 28 rising from two slots in twovertical lugs29, rising from the inner end ofan adjustable plate 30,which latterslides in guides on a lateral extension 81, projecting fromthe side plate 19andhe1d Theopposite ends of the spindles plates 28seated upon the plate 18 and adjustable longitudinally of thesameindependently. By adjusting the plates 28 the rollers may be causedto assume a greater or less inclination across the bed, the purpose ofwhich will presently appear.

The ductor-roller-has its spindlesseated at its ends in open slots onthe ends of two arms 33, extending upward at an inclination from the twoside plates of the carriage, the said roller extending transverselyacross the bed parallelwith the ink-reservoir.

The purpose of setting the distributingrollers so that they will extendobliquely across the face of the strips is to insure the uniform andproper distribution of the inks on the variouscolor-strips. Theinkswillbe providing for the adjustment of jthe'distributing-rollers bymeans of the movable bearings described I am enabled to regulate to anicety the position of the rollers with respect to the spaces betweenthe strips and the width of the same.

lVhen small distributing-rollers are employed in small machines, I havefound it desirable to provide means for holding the spindles in theirbearings, and for this purpose I employ horizontal spring-plates 34,which bear upon the upper sides of the spindles and which are held bymeans of set-screws 35.

A reciprocating motion is imparted to the carriage by means of two arms36, connected at their lower ends to a rock-shaft 37 mounted in bearingsin the lower ends of the triangular frames 2, and pivot-ed at theirupper ends to links 38,'which are in turn pivoted at their ends todownward and forwardly extending arms 39, projecting from the undersideof the carriage. By the rocking shaft the carriage is caused to travelfrom the lower end of the bed, as shown in Fig. 2, to its upper end,with the ductor-roller in position to receive the ink from thereservoir, as shown in Fig. 1.

The reservoir'for containing the differentcolored inks consists ofindependent and separate sections, which are. arranged in a transverseline side by side, andat the upper end of the inclined bed. Each sectionis for a distinct color-and thesections-are independently removable,each being of a width to correspond to the width of its color-strip,which in turn corresponds to the width of the type which is to receiveits particular color. The individual sections each consist of a troughor cup 40, which troughs are seatedside byside on the upper edges of achannel strip 41, extending transversely across the upper end of the bedand firmly secured between the upper ends of the two triangular framesby a tie-rod 42, provided on its end with a tightening-nut. Each troughis provided with a depending lug 43 having hinged to its lower end aspring locking-finger 44, adapted to be engaged with the inclined sideof the channel-strip and serving, when thus engaged, to hold the troughin the position it is set. When disengaged, as shown by dottedlines inFig. 7, the trough may be moved laterally along the strip or entirelyremoved therefrom, as desired. By the 0011- struction described eachtrough is individually and independently removable and is alsoadjustable laterally, and this is a great advantage, as it is frequentlynecessary to change the position of the troughs or replace the same byothers to meet the corresponding changes of the colors and the typesemployed. Ineach trough a roller 45 revolves and the various rollers aresplined to ED60111- monshaft 46, extending horizontally along the upperedges of the troughs and mounted at its ends in suitable bearings in theupper ends of the two triangular frames before alluded to. The rollersare loose on the shaft s0 far as their longitudinal movement isconcerned, and are limited in their movement by the sides of thetroughs. The location of the rollers is such that when the carriagearrives at the limit of its upward movement on the bed the ductor-rollerwill contact with the rollers and will receive the different inks on itssurface, mechanism being provided to cause the rotation of the rollersat the moment of contact, which will act to turn the ductor by friction,and the latter will at the same time receive on its surface stripes ofthe different-colored inks contained in the several troughs.

The movement of the shaft on which the rollers are .mounted is effectedby a coiled spring 47, having one end connected to a fixed plate 2 andits opposite end connected to a barrel or casing 48 mounted to revolveupon the shaft. This casing is provided with a series of ratchet-teeth49 engaged by a pawl 50 pivoted to the side of a toothed wheel 51, keyedto the shaft. This toothed wheel is prevented from rotating by a pivoteddog 52, having one end formed to enter between the teeth on the wheeland its opposite end arranged in the path of the reciprocating carriage.The form of the dog is such that it will normally engage and hold thewheel, but will be permitted by being engaged by the carriage to releasethe wheel. The arrangement of the parts is such that the dog will bedisengaged from the toothed wheel and permit the rotation of the shaftunder the influence of the spring when the ductor-roller has reached thelimit of its upward movement and is in contact with the rollers in thetroughs. At this time the rollers will revolve and apply the inks to theductor-roller, and on the return of the latter the locking-dog willagain engage the toothed wheel and prevent the f urther rotation of therollers. In order to provide for the winding up of the spring, I secureto the outer surface of thebarrel one end of a strap 54, the other endof which is connected to an adjustable clamp 55, secured to the outerend of an arm 56, having its inner end connected to the rock-shaft 37.When the spring is uncoiled and in its expanded state, the strap will bewound several times around the barrel, so that when the arm to which theother end of the strap is connected is moved rearward to the positionshown in Fig. 2 the barrel will be rotated and will wind up the spring.When the arm is moved forward to the position shown in Fig. 1, the strapwill slacken, and when the carriage releases the toothed wheel byengaging the locking-dog the spring in expanding will, through theconnection of the barrel with the toothed wheel, cause the rotation ofthe shaft and at the same time wind the strap on the casing, ready to beagain drawn by the arm to wind up the spring.

By providing a space between the upper ends of the color-strips and theink-reservoir the ductor and distributing rollers, after they have leftthe color-strips, will rotate slightly from momentum, and in this waythey will not contact with the strips at the same point on their surfaceon every movement back and forth.

Two or more colors may be blended in a single line by applying narrowtroughs, the combined width of which will about equal the width of thecolor-strip to be supplied. The slight and regular vibratory movement ofthe distributing-rollers will be sufficient in this case to evenly blendthe colors, while the constant removal and supply of the inks preventsan objectionable accumulation, and hence prevents blending beyond thedesired limit.

In applying my attachment to a press of the Gordon type the ink-disk andits supporting frame are removed and my device applied and fastened bysuitable bolts extending through lugs on the base of the triangularframes. A clamp 61 is attached to the front end of a pitman 62 actuatingthe press roller-carriage, and to this clamp a link 63 is pivoted at oneend and has its opposite end pivoted to an arm 64, connected torock-shaft 37 before referred to. The form-rollers of the press, whenthe distributing-rollers are at the upper end of the bed, pass on to thecolor-strips and receive on their surfaces the stripes of the variouscolors, and from the color-strips they pass over the face of the typeand apply to the same the diiferent-colored inks in which the impressionis to appear.

It will be observed that the front walls of the troughs extend or flareoutward some distance beyond the face of the rollers therein, thusleaving at the front wide spaces between the edge of the trough and theroller, so that there will be no liability of the rollers depositing inkon the edge of the trough, which action would result were the latterclose to the face of the roller.

Each ink-trough is provided with a scraper 60 in the form of aspring-plate having its rear end bent downward and extended a shortdistance forward and seated upon a rearwardly projecting lug 61 on thetrough. These scrapers are held in place by set-screws 62 and theirforward ends rest upon the surface of the rollers above their axes, andthey serve to prevent an undue amount of ink being taken by the rollers.The pressure of the ends of the scrapers on the rollers may be varied bythe set-screws, and by this means the amount of ink supplied to theductor may be regulated according to the circumstances of the case.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a mechanismof the type described the combination of a bed or frame provided withlongitudinally extending guide rails or tracks, a series of color stripsextending from one end for a portion of the length of the same, an inkreservoir at the opposite end of the bed; whereby a space is leftbetween the ends of the strips and, the reservoir, a carriage mountedon, and arranged to traversesaid tracks, means for-reciprocating thecarriage, and distributing rollers mounted inbearings in said carriage,and rotatable independently of the movement of the same; whereby therollers Will revolve slightly by momentum after-being carried by thecarriage beyond the ends of the strips.

42. In a printing press the combination of a bed, a series of colorstrips extending longitudinally thereof, an ink reservoir at the upperend of the bed, reciprocating distributing rollers arranged to traversethe-bed, receive the ink from the reservoir, and apply the same to thecolor strips, a carriage in which said rollers are mounted, arock-shaft,-con-" nections between the rock-shaft andthe-carriage, anarm on the rock-shaft, inkingrollers adapted to traverse the colorstripsand the faces of the types, a carriage carrying said inkingrollers, a pitman arranged to-actuate said carriage and suitableconnections be tween the .pitman-and thearmon the: rockshaft.

3..In combination with; a bed, a-series of color strips removably seatedthereon, a transverse removable shaftsustained by the bed at the upperendsofthe strips, and a series of independent locking devices encirclingat one end said; shaft andarranged to engage at their opposite ends theends of therstrips.

4. In combination withabed providedwith a transverse supporting plate, aseries ofseparate ink containing troughs seated upon said plate, and aseries of hinged locking fingers pivoted to the troughs and arranged toengage the plate and therebyhold the troughs fixedly in position.

containing troughs arranged side by side, rollers-locatedtherein,=a-shaft on which the rollers are mounted, a springacting on theshaft and tending to rotate the same, a-reciprocating carriage providedwith a distributing roller or ductor, adapted to contact-With therollers in the troughs and'a locking device to prevent the rotation ofthe shaft, said locking device adapted to be engagedand released by thecarriage at the moment of the contact of the rollers.

- troughs, rollers in :said troughs,1a, shaft on which the rollers aremounted, a coiled spring actingon the shaft and tending when undertension to rotate the same, a locking device to prevent the rotation ofthe shaft, a recipcontact with the rollers in the troughs on the upwardmovement of the carriage, means for releasing the shaft; at themomentof-contact of the' rollers, a rock-shaft, connections between thesame and carriage for moving it,

an arm on the rock-shaft and suitable connections between the end of thearm and the.

spring adapted towind the latter on the rearward movement ofthecarriage.

Intestimony whereof Ihereuntoset my hand, this 14th day of December,1894, in the presence of two attesting witnesses.

'JNO. B. CLINE.

\Vitnesses:

J.-M. FORBES, J. A, GALLAHER,

